Departmental Computer Software

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her policy is in respect of the installation and use of  (a) Internet Explorer,  (b) Firefox and  (c) Opera website browsers by Government departments.

Angela Smith: Government policy regarding installation and use of web browsers is that all decisions must be in line with value for money requirements. In addition, the Open Source, Open Standards, Re-use strategy requires Departments to consider open source browsers such as Firefox and Opera on a level basis with proprietary browsers such as Internet Explorer. The strategy can be found at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/318020/open_source.pdf